Scarlet looked down and suddenly felt self-conscious about not being in costume herself—but then realized that was silly, especially as several girls passed her dressed in vampire outfits. After all, she, Scarlet, was the real vampire here. What need did she have for a costume?
Scarlet passed folding tables on which sat huge bowls of punch, with serving ladles and cups. She noticed a few kids spiking their glasses with a clear liquid from a flask hidden in their pockets. She realized that many of these kids were probably already drunk, despite the watchful eyes of the school administration.
The music was blaring, blasting a dance song. On the makeshift dance floor in the grass, hundreds of kids were dancing to the beat; it was a strange sight to see this dance club outside, on a football field. She kept working her way through the crowd, winding between groups of people, looking at all the costumes, wondering if behind any of them was Sage.
She felt increasingly desperate as she reached the end of the crowd and saw no sign of him. She flooded with panic as worst-case scenarios crossed her mind: had he changed his mind? Would he not show, leave her stranded? Would she be left all alone in the world?
The thought set her heart pounding. She quickly tried to push it out of her mind.
Stay positive, she told herself, again and again. Maybe he’s just late.
She circled through the crowd again, and came to the huge bonfire. Dozens of kids stood around it, staring at the flames. Most of these were the kids without dates, not dancing on the floor. A lot of them had long sticks, roasting marshmallows. The huge pile of wood burned higher and higher into the night, crackling and popping as it did.
As Scarlet scanned the faces, she suddenly recognized a familiar face: Maria.
Maria noticed Scarlet at the same time. She looked at her, then rolled her eyes and turned and walked away.
It hurt Scarlet, and made her want to try one more time to talk sense to her former friend. Maybe now she’d be ready to listen. She hated leaving things like this.
Scarlet hurried over to her and grabbed her arm as she was walked away.
“Maria, wait!”
Maria turned, and stared back coldly.
“What do you want?” she spat. “Where’s your boyfriend? Did he dump you already?”
Scarlet was taken aback by her nastiness. She hardly knew how to respond.
“You don’t have to be mean,” Scarlet said. “Like I said, I didn’t do anything.”
Maris stared back, seething, and Scarlet could see she had not forgiven her.
“And like I said, we’re over,” Maria said.
Maria turned and stormed off into the crowd. Not far away were Jasmin and Becca; they stared back at Scarlet as if she were their enemy now, too. As Maria reached them, the whole group turned their backs as one, and disappeared into the crowd.
Just as Scarlet was feeling worse than ever, she felt a tapping on her shoulder.
Her heart swelled, as she hoped and prayed it was Sage, here to rescue her from all this.
But she was crushed to see it wasn’t him. It was Blake. He stood there, smiling nervously back at her. His eyes looked bloodshot, and she could smell vodka on his breath.
“I saw you standing here alone,” he said. “Does that mean you don’t have a date?”
Scarlet hardly knew how to respond. She really did not want to get into it with him now. She was over him.
“I…um…yes…I do.”
Blake raised his eyebrows in surprise, and then she saw a small smile at the corner of his lips, as if he didn’t believe her.
“Well, where is he?” he asked.
She scanned the crowd, searching again for Sage, willing him to appear.
But again, she saw no sign of him. Her heart fell. She couldn’t understand it. What could possibly have happened? She felt even worse than ever, as if the universe were rubbing it in.
“I don’t know,” she finally answered, truthfully.
“Doesn’t sound like a good date to me,” Blake said. “I don’t have a date either,” he added. “Vivian actually asked me. Can you believe it? That was bold.”
“What did you say?” Scarlet asked.
“I said no,” he said, a serious look in his eyes. “Because I wanted to go with you. And I was hoping maybe you’d show.”
He said it with such sincerity, that for a moment, Scarlet felt herself looking into his eyes, remembering why she liked him in the first place.
She quickly looked away.
“Look, Scarlet, I know I’ve been a jerk,” he said. “I’m really sorry. I was thinking about everything you said. About not standing up for you, in front of Vivian. And you’re right. I should have. I’m sorry. It was stupid. Anyway, the thing is, I know how I feel now. I guess I was just confused, ya know? But anyway, I really want to be with you. I really want you to be my girlfriend. You don’t have to give me an answer now. But just think about it, okay? I promise, I’ll change.”
Scarlet stood there, not knowing what to say. He seemed so sincere, his words at least took the edge off of her anger and upset towards him.
“Thank you for saying all that,” she said. “I appreciate it.”
“I’m going to get a drink,” he said. “I’ll come back in a little bit. If your friend still isn’t here, maybe we can dance?”
She doubted very much she’d be standing here when he got back. If Sage didn’t show, she was leaving. But she appreciated it anyway.
Blake disappeared back into the crowd, and she sighed and turned the other way, deciding to get away from Blake and patrol the other side of the field. Maybe Sage was waiting in the far corners, lurking in the shadows.
As she made it halfway, suddenly she heard a voice.
“Well, if it isn’t miss congeniality.”
Scarlet’s heart sank. She stopped and slowly turned, and there, behind her, stood Vivian, flanked by all of her friends. They stared down at her with mean smiles, and she could tell by their glossy eyes that they were all drunk. She could also see immediately how mad Vivian was at being here without a date. Clearly, that must have embarrassed her, and she was looking to take it on someone. She had finally found her target.
“So you think you can just throw beer on me at a party and get away with it?” Vivian asked.
“I never threw beer on you,” Scarlet responded.
“No, but your little friend did,” she answered. “On your behalf.”